Declare war against crimes
It seems that the government is really serious in fighting crimes this time, instead of believing the data showing a drop in crime rate. However, addressing the problem piecemeal cannot actually help solve the issue. Instead, it requires a thorough rectification to restore public confidence.
Lim Sue Goan, My Sinchew
The homicide of Arab Malaysian Banking Group founder Hussain Ahmad Najadi has prompt the government to face the harm on economy that brought by serious crimes. If foreign experts dare not to come, how are we going to have economic transformation?
This time, not only Chinese-language newspapers have published the shooting on their cover page, but English-language and Malay-language newspapers, too, have made it a cover page story, proving that Chinese-language newspapers have not hyped it, but the poor public security has indeed reached a worrying level.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that the government will set up a committee, comprising Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and several other ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department, to discuss with Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, and come up with possible additional laws to fight serious crime. The government will also provide the police necessary resources to facilitate crime fighting efforts.
Meanwhile, the Home Minister revealed that under the Cabinet’s instruction, the crime fighting meeting formed by four ministers will advise the government to continue the policy of no detention extension without trial, while strengthening ties with the people, modernising police equipment and setting up special forces to reduce crimes.
It seems that the government is really serious in fighting crimes this time, instead of believing the data showing a drop in crime rate. However, addressing the problem piecemeal cannot actually help solve the issue. Instead, it requires a thorough rectification to restore public confidence.
From the data, the police has received many resources in recent years. For instance, from 2007 to 2012, the police has obtained a 65.17% increase in funding.
The number of uniformed police officers has also increased to 112,583 people. Therefore, there is apparently a fallacy for the minister to say that the police to citizen ratio in Malaysia is 1:700 as compared to 1:35 in New York. If we calculate based on 28 million of population, the ratio should then be 1: 249, which is in line with the standard of 1:250 as recommended by the Interpol.
Therefore, the police’s efficiency and discipline should be enhanced instead. Without doing so, the same effect would not be achieved no matter how much funding is added and how modern the equipment is.
The government is expected to table a new law bill to replace the Emergency Ordinance in the September session of the Dewan Rakyat and thus, the police cannot be over-dependent on the new law as it requires at least two months for the bill to be passed and made effective.
The police force distribution is also a problem. Only 10,150 policemen or 9% are crime investigation officers and the number is far from enough to combat crimes.
In addition to the police efficiency, the disintegration of family structure and the complexity of social structure have also contributed to the rise of crimes. It compromises both internal and external factors.
Most young people started from dropping out of school, street racing, drug abuse to eventually become followers of criminal syndicates. Foreign criminals have also sneaked into Malaysia and engaged in illegal activities including human trafficking, drug trafficking and drug refining, heavily polluting the country. Illegal gambling centres and porn premises could be found everywhere and crimes take place after they spent all their money in gambling and drugs.
Rampant underground activities lead to disputes over interests. Arms smugglers smuggle firearms to meet the demand of contract killings, resulting in the proliferation of illegal guns.
In addition to shortening the Visa On Arrival (VOA) from 90 days to 14 days for foreign citizens, the Home Ministry must also step up the arrest of “overstayers”.
Social peace could be restored only if the problem is addressed at all levels. However, slowness has always been our Achilles’ heel.
